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Ask HN: Spending Tracking Tools

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Re: Ask HN: Spending Tracking Tools

#21

Post by alp1n3_eth »

blakeburch wrote: post #13

I highly recommend LunchMoney ( https://lunchmoney.app/ ). It's built by a solo developer who is very responsive and continues to make the app great. Lots of automation and ability to create custom classification rules. I've been happy for the past 3 years. I've also heard good things about CoPilot ( https://copilot.money/ ) but have not had the chance to experiment with it yet.

+1 for Copilot.

When Mint shut down I did a ton of trials and Copilot had the best UI for me and I didn't have to learn a new "system" like YNAB. It relies on Plaid, so just make sure your banks/cards/accounts are mainstream (Chase, Wells Fargo, Goldman, Vanguard, etc).

Re: Ask HN: Spending Tracking Tools

#22

Post by d_burfoot »

If you decide to go the low-tech/DIY route, I will shamelessly self-promote my platform WebWidgets.io. It basically allows you to upload SQLite file(s) and then talk to them in JavaScript from a web app. I built a finance tracker app for myself using WWIO (I do a monthly download of my spending data from my online bank and then upload the CSV to my app). I've been using it for years.

The key issue in this world is that everyone wants a slightly different set of features, so any one-size-fits-all app will be too complex. DIY-ing it means you get exactly the features you want and no gratuitous complexity.

Re: Ask HN: Spending Tracking Tools

#23

Post by jtbayly »

For Mac and iOS users, Moneywell is by far the simplest for using an envelope system. I love it. Local data. Solid syncing. Native app. Drag and drop money where you want it.

Edit: no notifications. Sorry I forgot that was one of your criteria.

Re: Ask HN: Spending Tracking Tools

#24

Post by AdrianB1 »

I gave up and went to Excel. I track the utilities separately, for everything else I import the monthly reports from the banks and do the analysis every quarter. Initially I was spending more time with this, but I am disciplined enough that I am just checking that I am in line with my expectations, no need for alerts. For some grocery account I don't check the balance for an entire quarter, I am always inside the limit.

Re: Ask HN: Spending Tracking Tools

#25

Post by jvanderbot »

Monarch is fine for me. But it probably fits under "plaid integration".

I got it when I had kids and my energy and time was redirected.

My prior system was boring: plain text transactions updated daily, and collated using ledger. (Ledger-cli.org)

The reporting and budgeting is top notch, and the lack of an integration means you're on top of every penny since you have to type it out. Honestly even with a full house it was only 2 or 5 transactions a day. Easy.

Re: Ask HN: Spending Tracking Tools

#26

Post by itake »

I use copilot. its decent, b/c it helps me manage subscription purchases better than the other apps.

For example, my car insurance is billed every 6 months, so every 6 mo, I exceed my budget for car stuff. copilot does a better job for accounting for these.

Re: Ask HN: Spending Tracking Tools

#28

Post by me_smith »

blakeburch wrote: post #13

I highly recommend LunchMoney ( https://lunchmoney.app/ ). It's built by a solo developer who is very responsive and continues to make the app great. Lots of automation and ability to create custom classification rules. I've been happy for the past 3 years. I've also heard good things about CoPilot ( https://copilot.money/ ) but have not had the chance to experiment with it yet.

LunchMoney is cool. When Mint shut down I tried several apps (LunchMoney, Copilot, and Monarch). Unfortunately, I couldn’t get LunchMoney to work with one of my credit unions. I reached out to them but they couldn’t really do anything about it. I wanted to support the solo dev but I ultimately chose Monarch because it just worked with all my accounts out of the box.

Re: Ask HN: Spending Tracking Tools

#29

Post by wbadart »

djhworld wrote: post #8

https://plaintextaccounting.org/ Quite a bit of a ramp up to get used to it, but no other tool outside of spreadsheets comes close to flexibility.

+1

While I don't think this approach meets OP's requirements (they seem to be looking for something a little more turn-key), I hope other readers of this thread will fall down this rabbit hole.

I'm now in my 5th year of tracking every penny in and out of my life with hledger[0], with a mostly manual approach. Some benefits:

- as noted by a spreadsheet user, it adds friction to spending money, which has curbed frivolous/ unplanned expenses for me (and double entry accounting makes it impossible for money to "disappear")

- if you subscribe to Files over Apps[1] hledger and its ilk (beancounter, gnu cash) are hands down your most mature, stable options

- I've learned a great deal about accounting and how money works in general

- the reports I can generate from my ledger give me a decent starting point at tax time

Happy accounting!

[0]: https://hledger.org/index.html

[1]: https://stephango.com/file-over-app

Re: Ask HN: Spending Tracking Tools

#30

Post by jppope »

rocketpastsix wrote: post #3

YNAB generally gets mentioned as one of the de factor budgeting options. I used it a lot a few years ago and it works. Their system is a little wonky if you aren't used to the envelope method but they have great docs, a great little podcast and a healthy community.

I wasn't a fan. tried it for a couple of months and I kept felt like it didn't have features I was looking for. Currently using Monarch which is pretty good, not perfect. I wish I could have done my own thing with plaid but sadly I couldn't get a dev or small business account.
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